Hardie, M; Khan, S; O'Donnell, A and Miller, G (2007) The efficacy of waste management plans in Australian commercial construction refurbishment projects. Construction Economics and Building, 7(2), pp. 26-36. ISSN 2204-9029
Abstract
Renovation and refurbishment of the existingcommercial building stock is a growing area oftotal construction activity and a significantgenerator of waste sent to landfill in Australia. Awritten waste management plan (WMP) is awidespread regulatory requirement forcommercial office redevelopment projects. Thereis little evidence, however, that WMPs actuallyincrease the quantity of waste that is ultimatelydiverted from landfill. Some reports indicate anabsence of any formal verification or monitoringprocess by regulators to assess the efficacy ofthe plans. In order to gauge the extent of theproblem a survey was conducted of twenty fourconsultants and practitioners involved incommercial office building refurbishment projectsto determine the state of current practice withregard to WMPs and to elicit suggestions withregard to ways of making the process moreeffective. Considerable variation in commitmentto recycling policies was encountered indicatinga need to revisit waste minimisation practices ifthe environmental performance of refurbishmentprojects is to be improved.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Australia; waste management plans; commercial construction; refurbishment |
| Index terms: | Australia, building stock, practitioner, waste management, evidence, survey, minimization, construction activity, environmental performance, commercial construction, refurbishment project, landfill, recycling, redevelopment, regulator, renovation, office building, variation |
| Subjects: | evaluation and assessment methods, waste management, data collection methods, contractual condition, practitioner, sustainability assessment, Geography, infrastructure engineering, construction type, sociology, infrastructure and transport systems, renovation and retrofit, algorithms, construction operations, asset management |
| Topics: | Stakeholder Management, Research Practice, Roles and Professions, Digital Applications, Engineering Principles, Sustainability, Construction Technology, Contract Administration, Urban Studies, Site Management, Geographical Context, Business Strategy |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCEA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here